Counterpoint: I grew up in an area which allegedly has some of the worst roads in the country. They're fine. Sure they're not silky-smooth surfaces ready for MotoGP but contemporary mass-market vehicles have no problem traversing them. At worst you're going to feel uncomfortable for half a second. Really bad construction might slow you down 10-20 minutes.

Meanwhile America's best, most expensive, most politically supported public transit systems barely work, and can be expected to fail you completely several times each month.

The lived experiences don't match the theory. Roads usually work fine, and degrade gracefully when they don't. Transit is obnoxious on a good day, and when it fails it cascades catastrophically.

I want to be a good urbanist, but the quality just isn't there, nor does it seem to be a budget priority (instead new money goes to fare subsidies, empty bus routes, etc).